Golf playing field



May 28, 1935. A E 2,003,074

GOLF PLAYING FIELD Filed Feb. 1, 1933 Patented May 28, 1935 GOLF PLAYING FIELD Benjamin E. Gage, Evanston, Ill., assignor to Kellogg Huntington, Evanston, Ill.

Application February 1, 1933, Serial No, 654,571

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in golf playing fields, and more particularly to a novel design of a field upon which the game of golf may be played, but with certain departures from the method of play as ordinarily followed on a regular golf course, due to the comparatively small area of the field.

The primary object of the invention is to provide facilities for playing the game of golf within the limits of a relatively small tract of ground, but without materially detracting from the enjoyment of the game or eliminating the varied conditions of play that characterize the game as played on regulation courses.

A further object of the invention is to supply the need for improved facilities for competitive pla-y, practice or instruction in a fraction of the time required to play the usual nine or eighteen hole course, and without entailing the time and expense of such play. It might be added in this connection that the purpose of the herein described playing field and method of play is not to supplant, but rather supplement the established courses, and to do so by eliminating the chief time consuming aspect of regular play, namely, the wa1king,not that this is not one of the beneficial and enjoyable aspects of the game, but rather that it permits the players to concentrate on the execution of the strokes, and it is in this department of the game only in which proficiency is recognized.

It may be observed also that the opportunity for practice or play within comparatively small areas and in more or less concentrated form,

has been heretofore restricted to the so-called miniature putting courses and practice driving fields, but these facilities fall far short of offering an attractive substitute for regular play, since the variety of shots that can be played is: quite limited, the actual playing conditions are but meagerly simulated, and theopportunity for competitive play is largely lacking.

In the main then, the object of the present invention is to provide a field so designed as to permit the playing of any number of holes, varied as to length and terrain and calling for the use of the full complement of clubs, but with this difference, that all strokes are made from a limited area and without following the ball from tee to green. Nor is the same ball used for successive strokes inasmuch as the point at which each ball comes to rest is immediately shifted back to the point from which the stroke was made, and another ball is used for the next stroke, and so on until each hole is played. In short, the play on a field of the present disclosure is based on the theory that the player remains within a limited playing area, and the objective, that is, thegreen ultimately to be reached, advances closer to the player with each stroke, so that the greater the distance obtained or the accuracy with which each shot is executed, the less the distance required for the next shot, and so on until the ball is either on the green or within short approaching distance therefrom. And when this position is reached by the player or players (if a competitive match is being played) they move over to a standard putting green immediately adjacent the playing area, place their balls approximately at the point on or near the green which was their last objective, and then proceed to approach and putt on that green exactly as they would in regulation play,

Thus with the foregoing brief outline of the arrangement of the field and method of play, it will be seen that all of the conditions of actual play can be closely simulatedwithout the players walking any appreciable distance; in fact, the design of the field and particularly the actual playing area provides for the execution of strokes from the rough, sand traps or fairway, as well as drives from thetee, without moving more than a few yards.

A more complete conception of the field and method of play will be gained from the description to follow, and in connection with the accompanying drawing which shows a typical design for a playing field in plan view.

The playing field may be any suitable tract of land selected for the purpose, although preferably of a contour not unlike the terrain on which an average fairway would be laid out. Considerable latitude would be permitted in the selection of a site for the field, since it could be flat or rolling, although not so undulating as to conceal any considerable part of the field from view from the driving area. The tract selected should be roughly 400 yards long by yards wide, although these dimensions would be governed somewhat by the location and ground available for the purpose. In the main, the field is laid out so as to reproduce one hole of fairly long yardage, that is, a tee or driving area and a fairway of average width with the usual rough along the sides, together with sand traps and such other hazards as desired. The design or layout, however, departs from the architecture of a regular golf hole in that there is not a single green located at the far end of the fairway,

but a number of greens placed in or along the fairway and different and known distances from the tee. Here again the location of the greens is a matter of choice as well as-the number. In the plan herein disclosed there are nine greens ranging from, say, 25 to 200 yards from the tee, four of which are placed in the fairway and the reminder along one or both sides of the fairway. These nine greens which may be designated as the objective greens, are supplemented by one or more playing or putting greens'located to one side of and adjacent the tee or driving area. The so-called objective greens are not actually played upon but merely serve as objectives for the shots played, while a playing green is actually used in the making of approach shots and putting strokes.

It may be observed at this point that terms common to golf parlance are used freely, in the belief that the game has now become sufliciently well known to permit of such use without explanation.

Thus the tee l is a plot or area located at the playing end of the field. Its shape is generally rectangular but preferably elongated lengthwise in the direction of the fairway 2 beyond. Moreover, the tee is preferably larger than the average tee, first, because it permits frequent changes in the point from which the drives or shots are made, secondly, because suflicient yardage is provided to adjust the length of the shot to the distance from the particular objective green being played, and lastly, because the tee may be divided lengthwise into two sections, thus permitting two persons or groups of persons to play independently of each other. Thus for example the tee may be, say, 40 yards long by 30 yards wide, with a dividing fence 3 or the like extending along the center line near the rear end of the tee. Racks for holding clubs and score boards would be located along or upon the fence, together with such other conveniences as may be necessary.

The surface of the tee is covered with a grass turf kept smooth and closely clipped, after the manner of the ordinary tee. Along the sides of the tee are a series of distance markers 4 of any suitable kind, the first being located at the front edge of the tee and spaced apart, say, five yards apart throughout the length of the tee. As will be presently explained in greater detail, these markers are used for computing the distances from the point from which a shot is to be made to any one of the objective greens. Beyond the distance markers and extending lengthwise on both sides of the tee are relatively narrow strips or plots of sand 5, 5 of the same depth and condition as would be found in the average sand trap.

If desired, although not shown, a mound simulating a bunker can be erected at some point in the sand plot so that shots from a sand trap behind a bunker can be made if called for. And finally beyond the sand plots are wider plots 6, 6 of comparatively rough, uneven and uncut ground, designed to simulate the so-called rough which is usually found bordering the fairway or at the sides and back of a green. As in the case of the sand plots, these rough plots are used when playing a shot calling for a lie in the rough".

Referring now to the design of the fairway 2, it has already been explained that it is a reproduction of an average fairway both as to dimensions, contour and surface conditions, be-

ing of clipped turf with sand traps and whatever other hazards are permissible, placed here and there. This playing fairway differs from the ordinary fairway, however, in that it is lined with distance markers 2 spaced apart, say, 10 yards throughout its length. These lines may be marked in any suitable manner, as for instance white parallel lines of crushed stone, or any other material which would not be readily obliterated by rain. Again, the markers may be targets placed along the side of the fairway, in fact, any means of indicating the yardage from the tee may be used, each marker indicating the distance in units of 10 yards.

The objective greens 1 shown as nine in number, are of the average size, say, 60 feet in diameter, and are placed on or about the fairway in any manner best suited to the contour, the only requirement being that the distances from the tee to each green be increased by definite known distances, say, 25 yards. Thus directly in front of the tee may be a green yards from the forward edge or other given point on the tee I, two greens a little farther out and on the sides of the fairway and both yards from the tee (one for use by each of the two groups playing from the corresponding sides of the tee), and beyond these are other objective greens at distances of yards, yards, yards, yards and so on to the most distant green which may be 250, 300 or even 400 yards from the tee, depending on the length of the fairway and the particular arrangement followed in laying out the field.

It will be noted that the four greens laid out along the centerof the fairway are merely circular plots surrounded entirely by the fairway, while those located along the edges of the fairway are irregular in shape with sand traps 8 partially surrounding them and areas of rough beyond and along the far sides thereof. The several greens located in the fairway may be designated as the easy holes, and are provided for the beginners and less experienced players, while the other greens are intended for the more experienced players and more nearly simulate the more difiicult conditions of play encountered on a regulation course.

It will be manifest that these objective greens being merely dummy greens, so to speak, and not actually played upon, need not be constructed with the same degree of care as a putting green or kept up with the same degree of care, although they should be kept in such condition that a ball alighting on their surface will act in much the same way as it would on a regular putting green. However, these greens are provided with flags 9 marking an actual or imaginary hole or cup located at or near the center thereof. For convenience in estimating the distance that a ball on the green is from the flag on any green, a circle I0 is marked on the green in any suitable manner, the radius of the circle being 15 feet, with the flag as the center. Thus if the greens are of a 60 foot diameter, each circle of 30 foot diameter marks the middle distance from the edge of the green to the flag.

To complete the layout of the fairway and objective greens, a tower or elevated observation post II is placed along the left side of the fairway approximately midway its length and, say, from 150 to 200 yards from the tee. In this tower is located an observer or call-boy whose duty is to locate or spot the balls as they are played and to inform the players on the tee either by calling through a megaphone or, if necessary, through a telephone and loud speaker system. The information given is in terms of the distance, location and "lie" of each ball with relation to the particular objective green being played, and is used by the player in playing of the next'stroke, as will be presently seen from the description of the method of play.

To complete the field layout, the puttinggreen I 2 is located near and to one side of the tee or playing area I, and although only one of these greens is shown, there may be another on the opposite side. one for each group of players using the tee. As already noted, the playing green is actually played upon and, therefore, is the duplicate of a regulation green with a smooth putting surface guarded by sand traps or bunkers and otherwise designed to aiford actual playing conditions. Moreover the area of ground l3 in front of the green and paralleling the tee is of the same character as the fairway and simulates that portion of the fairway from which approach shots are made. This area of fairway is marked as by a series of arcuate parallel lines l4 preferably spaced 5 yards apart and indicating distances of 5 to 25 yards from the near edge of the green. And finally the green has-the usual hole and marking flag but no distance indicating circle as in the case of the objective greens.

For the purpose of illustrating the method of play, it will be assumed that two persons wish to engage in a competitive match. At the outset they agree upon a certain sequence of holes to be played, as for instance, the holes that make up a certain golf course'with which one or both are familiar, or they may agree upon an arbitrary selection of holes based upon average hole distribution, or elseplay the holes as they are laid'out on the field in a certain sequence. The method of play is the same in any case, although the possibility of duplicating the holes of any regulation golf course indicates the added interest that may be injected into the play. Special score cards are provided on which both distances and strokes can be tabulated in the playing of each hole, as will be presently explained. Assume then that the first hole to be played is 285 yards, and since the objective green corresponding more nearly to this distance is 275 yards from the tee, this green is selected as the objective, and consequently the first player places his ball opposite the second five yard marker from the front edge of the tee or other point indicating the zero or base line, thus making the full distance 285 yards (275+10). The player drives toward the green and his ball comes to rest, say, 55

yards short and in the fairway. The call-boy in the tower spots the ball and signals back 55 yards short-fairway. The second player now drives a ball from the same point, but not with as good direction or distance as his opponent, with the result that his ball lands in the rough some 85 yards short to the far side of the green. The call-boy then signals "85 yards short-mug The first player now prepares for his second shot, having entered the length of his drive on the score card, viz: 230 yards (285-55), leaving a distance of 55 yards to reach the green. He now selects the playing green located yards from the tee, takes his stance on the tee opposite the five yard line to make the total distance yards (50+5), selects the club he would ordinarily use from that distance and a fairway lie, and proceeds to make his second shot which lands on the green, say, 12 feet from the flag. The second player now takes his second shot, and since his remaining distance is 85 yards and from a lie in the rough, he drops his second ball in the rough plot 6 at the side ofthe tee and plays for the objective green 75 yards from the tee but from a distance 10 yards back from the forward tee marker so as to obtain the required 85 yards (75+10). But still somewhat erratic, his ball does not reach the green but stops, say, 15 yards short. Now, both players have completed two strokes each, and one is on the green and the other 15 yards short, so instead of playing the remaining strokes from the tee, they move over to the playing green l2, each playing his third ball from the same position on or near that green as their second balls were with relation to the last objective green, that is, one places his ball 12 feet from the flag, and the other player places his ball 15 yards from the edge of the green, using the five yard lines for this purpose, and then proceed to approach and putt out the hole exactly as they would had they been playing the same hole in the regulation manner. Thus it will be seen that all shots to be played from positions on or within 25 yards of the objective greens are actually played out on the playing green. In the same manner the second hole would be played, and so on, until the full round has been completed, in every instance playing successive strokes from the tee, sand or rough, and depending on the lie of the ball played on the preceding stroke, and playing for the objective green which gives them the correct distance, plus any additional correction as to distance by shifting their playing position on the tee with the aid of the five yard markers. There may be a variation in the method of playing out the holes, particularly when there are others waiting to play, and that is, instead of moving over to the playing green to complete each hole as played, all holes may be played from the tee to distances within 25 yards of the greens, after which the players proceed to the playing green and play out the holes in order.

Manifestly different balls are played for successive strokes except on or near the putting green, the balls on the fairway being collected from time to time and returned to the tee.

In the same manner a four ball match can be played, or a single person can practice or receive instructions in the use of all clubs under different conditions of play. In short, play on a field such as herein described, affords practically the same opportunity for play as would be found on a regulation course, except that the walking is eliminated and consequently the time consumed, it being estimated that a full round of 18 holes can be played in approximately 40 minutes as compared with from 3 to 4 hours on a regular course.

Such a field may be operated for the benefit of the public for which a playing fee would be charged, or it may be installed as a part of an established golf course for practice purposes or for those not having the time to play the regular course.

As already stated, the exact design of the field may be varied to conform to the terrain or ideas of the architect, so long as it permits of the style of play herein described wherein all of the strokes are made from within a comparatively small area wherein the objective greens 5 actual putting green.

are located at diflerent known distances from the stroke-making area; and wherein the conditions existing around those objectives are reproduced within said playing area. even to an Having set forth a preferred embodiment of my invention,

I claim: 4

A golf playing field comprising: a fairway 10 provided with sand traps; a tee-area at one end of said fairway comprising co-extensive longitudinally extending strips'of sand and surface corresponding to said fairway surface; a pinrality of objective greens disposed along said fairway at measured distances in advance -of said tee area, the distance between adjacent objective greens being not greater than the length of said tee-area; and a playing green and associated approach-area in rear of said objective greens and apart from said fairway.

immature IE. GAGE. 

